Adire wrapper c. 20th century

This wrapper was made by a Yoruba artist, using resist-dyeing on cloth. Imagine the artist deciding on a pattern, and repeating it until it fills the whole rectangle. There must have been an element of chance and intuition. The artist might have been thinking about the utility of the fabric, the rhythm of the pattern, and the final image. I love how the artist's hand is so present. You can see the little imperfections, the slight variations in each motif. It's like a conversation between the artist and the material. The blue dye seeps into the cloth in unpredictable ways, creating these soft edges and blurry lines. The texture is so tactile, and the rhythm is so hypnotic. Looking at this piece I think about the work of other artists, like Anni Albers. Artists are always in dialogue, riffing off of each other’s ideas, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The cloth becomes a form of embodied expression, full of multiple meanings.